Wally Pfister To Direct 'Transcendence,' Johnny Depp May Star

If the name Wally Pfister sounds familiar to you, it better, especially if you’re a rabid Christopher Nolan fan. This is the same man who shot Memento, The Dark Knight Rises, you name it. To put it in a nutshell, he’s kind of a big deal. He’s marking his directorial debut with Transcendence, a present day science fiction movie that’ll be released underneath Warner Bros. Pretty awesome, right?

What makes this project even sweeter is some of the actors that could sign up. After all, if you’ve spent your career as Christopher Nolan’s go-to cinematographer you maintain a wonderful reputation around Hollywood. One such actor whose currently in the middle of talks to take the leap is none other than Johnny Depp. We like it when the actor adds a little bit of variety in his repertoire, which is what he aims to do with Wall Pfister’s directorial debut.

We know, it’s a surprise to see Depp in a movie that 1) Isn’t a Piratesfilm and 2) Doesn’t involve Tim Burton. It’s just too bad that his rumored hefty paycheck ($20 million against 15% of the grosses says The Hollywood Reporter) makes us want to slightly upchuck in our mouths. Other actors who are to be circling the production include Noomi Rapace, Tobey Maguire, Christoph Waltz and James McAvoy.

The story itself is still shrouded in secrecy. There’s some talk about machines becoming self-aware to a degree, which would make this sound very 2001: A Space Odyssey. We always enjoy a good story about man versus machine, so color us excited on this project. Transcendence is slated to be shot sometime around 2013.

Do you enjoy Wally Pfister’s camera work on the Christopher Nolan films?